Amgueddfa Cymru — National Museum Wales

Amgueddfa Blog: Learning

Sally Donovan, 20September2017

A wonderful new book has been created by Picture to Share. This dementia-friendly book is the first of this type that has been produced bilingually in both Welsh and English.

Pictures to Share teamed up with Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales, The National Library of Wales, Alzheimers Society, and the Welsh Poet Laureate to produce Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, a beautifully illustrated book to help carers communicate with people living with dementia. Pictures to Share have produced many books on this theme but this is the first to focus upon the Welsh language, in order to help people living with dementia whose first language is Welsh.

This was an opportunity to highlight the importance of the work we do to help people living with dementia as well as highlight our collections and showcase our commercial Picture Library. The images used within the book, Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, portray many things which people in Wales can relate to, prompting discussion.

Dementia is a subject which many of our staff are passionate about, with many of the staff undertaking training to become a Dementia Friend in order to help enhance the visitor experience of people living with dementia.

After communicating with the editor Michelle Forster, we supplied the images and license to use them in order to comply with copyrights laws. We have to issue a license to anyone who wishes to use our images. Pictures to Share invited us to Cardiff Library for their book launch in November 2016 to see the completed book, which was attended by staff from our Image Licensing, Photography and Translation departments. We were all very impressed with the end product which is now available at our shop at National Museum Cardiff and our on-line shop.

If you would like to use our images within a publication, please contact us at Image Licensing.
You can also purchase images for your home from our on-line shop.

Thank you to Cardiff Council for permission to use images from the book launch.

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Sarah Williams - Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni, 15September2017

For the first time, this year we’ve taken part in several workshops at the National Museum in Cardiff. Two discrete groups of Year 7 pupils with additional learning needs from our two sites have enjoyed and benefited from the wealth of resources at hand at the museum as well as the expertise of the workshop leaders.

Initially, I downloaded the resources available on the website that can be used for self-led visits to all of the National Museum of Wales sites. Some of these we’ve used already, the Maths package for use at Big Pit was really good.

The process of booking the workshops was simple, via email with confirmation of dates sent immediately. To give the children an introduction to the museum in Cardiff, we used the self-led Natural History booklet for our first visit. This encouraged them to explore the museum for themselves and discover the exhibits on show whilst fact-finding and recording information. Their reaction when entering the museum for the first-time was priceless - ”Wow, awesome!!”.

The first workshop we took part in was a stand-alone Art workshop led by Catrin. Following a short tour around the artwork on display, the children were then supported in creating their own exhibits using materials supplied by the museum. At the end, the children chose where to place their creations in the gallery.

Over the next couple of months, we then took part in a series of Science workshops led by Grace Todd: Discover!, Dinosaur Detectives, Skulls, Teeth & Bones and Minibeasts. These workshops really are ‘hands-on’, and give learners the opportunity to see, hold and examine items for themselves – ordinarily out of bounds.

So many areas of learning were covered during these workshops. For example, the Skulls, Teeth & Bones workshop enabled the pupils to develop their knowledge and understanding of the body and the role and function of the bones. Also, how different animals are adapted to the habitat in which they live and the food upon which they feed. The Minibeasts workshop also tied in with learning undertaken in school on adaptation. We looked closely at camouflage and also at classification of minibeasts.

It was great being able to access these workshops through the medium of Welsh and also at a level suitable for the age and ability of these young learners. They also developed their communication skills through the constant discussion and encouragement to contribute.

The final workshop enabled the pupils to have the freedom to search through hundreds of items - natural and man-made artifacts – in order to choose one each for a class exhibition. The pupils enjoyed measuring, weighing, drawing and describing these and then verbally present and promote their chosen item in front of the whole group.

We’ve thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from these workshops combined with the overall experience of visiting the capital city. So, a big thank you. We’ll be back! 😊

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Danielle Cowell, 22August2017

This story is inspired by the collections at the National Roman Legion Museum. Bethan Thomas and Jacob Rendle worked with Gritty Realism films to create this short animation.

As part of the process they looked at Roman archaeology and learned animation techniques. The project was funded by People’s Collection Wales and organised by staff at the National Roman Legion Museum and Newport Communities First education team.

Whilst none of the events in this story are real, it is inspired by some of the real objects the Romans left behind in Caerleon – 2,000 years ago.

For example, we do have evidence that a Roman soldier, a dog and a cat stepped into the clay roof tiles whilst they were being made.

Julius Valens - was a veteran Roman soldier who died aged one hundred! His grave stone can be found in the gallery. As can a soldier’s footprint and the cat shaped roof tile that the Romans put on the front of their houses to ward off evil spirits.

Come and see the animation and these fasinating Roman objects on show at the National Roman Legion Museum until September 2017.

A scene from the animation.

Learning animation techniques.

A soldier’s footprint.

A cat shaped roof tile that the Romans put on the front of their houses to ward off evil spirits.

Grave stone of Julius Valens a Roman soldier who died aged one hundred!

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Guest blog by Matthew Day, 15August2017

I am an artist, studying for an MA degree in contemporary design craft, specifically the sculptural potential of prosthetic limbs. My visit to the Mollusca collection occurred after I came across a blog about the interior structure of shells on the museum website, and I made the connection between the interior structure of shells and how 3-D printers work and correct form. On the blog there was a contact number for the Curator of Mollusca, so I contacted Harriet Wood, not knowing what to expect in response.

When I explained my work on prosthetics to Harriet, and the connections with the interior structure of shells and 3-D printing she seemed very excited and invited me to come down, and also offered to introduce me to the person who runs a photography lab who uses 3-D printing and scanning for the museum.

Going Behind the Scenes

I could not have imagined it could have gone as well as it did. I met Harriet at the information desk of the museum and we then headed behind-the-scenes, where the collection is kept. Walking around the museum to get out back was really nice and modern. It reminded me of an academic journal I read not long before my visit, from the International Journal of the Inclusive Museum: ‘How Digital Artist Engagement Can Function as an Open Innovation Model to Facilitate Audience Encounters with Museum Collections’ in the by Sarah Younan and Haitham Eid.

Behind the scenes at the museum was quite a special environment - generally the general public are not allowed access unless arranged. It was a great privilege to be walking through rooms and rooms full of shells that people over the years have discovered and appreciated for their beauty. What was really fascinating was how the shells had been cut so perfectly. The cut shells looked almost as if this was their natural state – the way they were cut blended in so well with the form of the shell. This is what I wanted to see.

I was speechless when I saw these collections of shells – especially seeing that part we’re not supposed to see. It was really exciting to see interior structure revealed by the cut, as it added a whole new value to the shells. They really reminded me of work by the the sculptor Barbara Hepworth, whose work I really admire.

We see shells all the time on beaches and they just fascinate me, especially the broken ones which reveal part of the interior. It’s a very imperfect break, very different to the quality of the shell which has been sliced purposely to reveal what is inside. A natural object sculpted by man: I feel that this is what I am drawn to.

3D Scanning: Art and Science

Before examining the shells myself, Harriet offered to take me down to see Jim Turner, where we ended up spending most of my visit because what he did was just very interesting. Jim works in a lab which uses a photography process called “z-Stacking” (or extended depth of field – EDF) which is used extensively in macro photography and photo microscopy.

Jim is also creating an archive of 3D scanned objects for the museum website, where people can interact with scanned objects using VR headsets - bringing a whole new experience to the museum.

I understood what he was doing immediately from my own work. He explained the process and I understood the technicalities. It was a real pleasure to speak to someone who is using 3-D scanning in a different way to me. Jim is using 3D scanning in a way that was described within academic texts I had read - and even though he wasn’t doing anything creative with shells, he was still putting the objects into a context where people could interact with them using digital technology such as VR headsets, and on the web via sketchfab.

'Like being on a beach...'

When we got back to the Mollusca Collection I was able to take my own time and was under no pressure - so I got to have a good look and explored the shells. It was like being on a beach spending hours of exploring all wonderful natural objects.

This visit had an amazing impact on my MA project - and I cannot thank Harriet and Jim enough for their time. This visit also gave me the confidence to approach other museums, such as Worcester Medical Museum, where I worked with a prosthetic socket from their collection. I 3D scanned the socket and, with the inspiration from Harriet’s collection of Mollusca, I created a selection of Sculptural Prosthetic sockets, drawing inspiration from the internal structures of shells, and illustrating sections of the shells that I was most drawn to.

'A sculpture in its own right': my collection of sculptural prosthetics

My MA is now reaching a climax, and I am starting the final major project module after the summer, which I am very excited about.

For the final part of my studies, I want to take all that I have explored and incorporated into my research to date, and use it to create a concept prosthetic limb which would be wearable, but also a sculpture in its own right – work which is now on track.

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Hywel Couch, 28July2017

With the school summer holidays once again upon us, it is time for the Learning Department at St Fagans National Museum of History to once again look back at the year that was and begin the preparations for September. There certainly won't be much time to put our feet up this summer!

This is a very exciting time for the team here. With the newly redeveloped main building now open, September will see us welcoming schools to the brand new Weston Centre for Learning. This will give us a dedicated reception desk for group visitors as well as two new learning studios, a lecture theatre and a fantastic sandwich room. We really can’t wait for September to arrive so we can begin to show off these spaces to schools!

With new spaces, come new opportunities. With space having been at a premium during the redevelopment process, it has been hard for us to increase our offer for schools. However, from September onwards, we will be running a range of new workshops for schools, as well as seeing the return of another, much loved session.

Discussions with teachers as part of our Formal Learning Forum have led us to increase the workshops that we offer that complement each other. This allows schools to book more than one workshops for groups, filling their visits with activities linked to the curriculum. For information of workshops available for Foundation Phase and Key Stage 2 groups, please visit the learning pages of the website. They can be found here: https://museum.wales/stfagans/learning/

As we are eager to show off the new Weston Centre for Learning, we are hosting an open evening for Primary School Teachers in September. The open evening will be an opportunity for teachers to explore the new spaces and familiarise themselves with the new spaces as well as meet the ever so friendly learning team! We will also showcase the workshops we run for schools so teachers can be sure of what they are booking. The open evening is taking place on September the 20th, and booking information can be found here: https://museum.wales/stfagans/learning/teachers/

We don’t want to wish the summer away, but we can’t wait to get started again in September. Hopefully we will see you then!